Nintendo announce: Nintendo NX

[Deleted member 13524]

If Nintendo launch cheap, then they launch low power. And that limits their audience in much the same way WiiU is limited.

There's this weird notion that a lot of people will buy a Nintendo console just because it's cheap.
- If it's a handheld and uses weak hardware, people will wonder why get a NX if the games look similar to the games for their medium-range smartphones, which cost 5x less.
- If it's a home console and uses weak hardware, people will wonder why get a NX if the games look the same as the games for their tablets or $100 Android mini-PCs, which cost 5x less.


I just can't see weak hardware dedicated for gaming being successful anymore. Not now that $100 smartphones bring CPUs and GPUs superior to the Vita's.

 

[McHuj]

If Nintendo launch cheap, then they launch low power. And that limits their audience in much the same way WiiU is limited. The only people who'd want a <= $250 console that isn't one of the existing platforms with large library, full publisher support, and lots of friends, are Nintendo enthusiasts (Nintendo's ever diminishing core fans) or someone wanting something new that only NX can offer.

I suppose the handheld <> console synergy could result in ~50 million handhelds over a few years and some interest among those owners in getting a console. However, I don't see a way out for Nintendo when it comes to home console competition, unless they introduce an incredibly desirable product. Something really 'Apple' and lifestyle, all magnesium alloy and shiny black and something you'd be proud to show your metrosexual mates without fear of them thinking it was a preschool toy.

Yes, that's true. However I think, technically, they can't launch a much more powerful system than the PS4. Technology is not far along enough to offer a true generational (or even half) jump from the PS4 at a console price point. Yes, they could launch a system for around $399-499 that could come with a better CPU and GPU than PS4 and it would have the best third party ports, but at this point, I don't think it would matter as PS4 has the market and the mind-share. A market "reset" won't occur until next gen. At this point in time, I don't think it makes sense for Nintendo to launch a PS4+ system.

Due to timing and poor past decisions, Nintendo's kinda fucked and I think they're only option is to take a gamble on a gimmick.

 

[function]

I'd like to see them return to waggle, just not as their only controller. It couldn't sell worse than the WiiU.

Nintendo are the only big player that "gets" party games now, and that games can be social (and not just in the "social media" sense).

They're the equivalent of that neighbour who always suggests Twister and poppers after a few drinks.

 

[Reznor007]

I'd like to see them return to waggle, just not as their only controller. It couldn't sell worse than the WiiU.

Nintendo are the only big player that "gets" party games now, and that games can be social (and not just in the "social media" sense).

They're the equivalent of that neighbour who always suggests Twister and poppers after a few drinks.

Technically they never left waggle. Mario Party 10 for WiiU requires Wiimotes to play, and they are optional for many of the multiplayer games as it is.

 

[Niebotskick]

Rumour: EA And Nintendo Looking To Rekindle "Unprecedented Partnership" On NX
But EA is playing hardball

Remember when the Wii U was about to launch a few years back, and EA's CEO John Riccitiello spoke boldly about the "unprecedented partnership" his firm enjoyed with Nintendo? What followed was anything but, with EA dropping support for the machine after a string of commercial flops.
However, according to information we've been given from a solid source, it would appear that Nintendo and EA are looking to put the past behind them and hop back into bed with one another. Nintendo Life contributor Liam Robertson - a man known to have his finger on several pulses and an ear permanently fixed to the ground - has been speaking to "several" staffers at EA and has discovered that the publisher is holding meetings with Nintendo next month and support for NX is a primary topic. He has now exclusively given us access to the correspondence he's been having with these sources.

More at: Nintendo Life

 

[Deleted member 13524]

EA having meetings with Nintendo (why wouldn't they?) doesn't mean there's an unprecedented partnership coming up.

EA makes/sells cross-platform games that they want to sell on all platforms no matter how badly they're performing like FIFA, NFL, Plants vs. Zombies, etc. They would need meetings even for those.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

"Unprecedented" is very ambiguous. It would be Unprecedented for Nintendo to incentivise EA to support their hardware by sending prostitutes to EA HQ but that doesn't mean that's the plan.

Probably unprecedented anyway. Because.. Japan. Japan and EA.

 

[TheLump]

"Unprecedented" is very ambiguous. It would be Unprecedented for Nintendo to incentivise EA to support their hardware by sending prostitutes to EA HQ but that doesn't mean that's the plan.

Probably unprecedented anyway. Because.. Japan. Japan and EA.

To be fair, we don't know that that isn't the precedent.

 

[BRiT]

Latest Rumors about Nintendo NX: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1188554

Seems to have some sort of validity since Pokemon Niji is figured to be Pokemon 3DS titles Sun and Moon. Why push those games on the 3DS if Nintendo NX is also a handheld? Unless they're doing a multi-release on the 3DS and NX.

My verified source from Nintendo has informed and shown proof of an internal US marketing budget and scheduling overview for 2016 focusing on Wii U and 3DS, with key parts highlighting The Legend of Zelda NX to be a holiday 2016 release either same day at Zelda Wii U or shortly after during the Nintendo NX holiday 2016 launch window.

• Nintendo NX Launch games for 2016 besides Zelda NX and marketing focus remain hidden for now
• Wii U $34.5 million marketing budget for 2016 total – Zelda Wii U has $10 million with the possibility of the funding being switched to Zelda NX version depending on launch timing in 2016.
• 3DS $56.25 million marketing budget for 2016 total

...

Fall-Holiday
Pokémon 20th Anniversary game “Niji” (remember code names mean nothing, forget about the Rainbow, your gold is not there)

 

[Deleted member 13524]

I don't know how much Nintendo usually spends on marketing, but $90 million on the old platforms seems outrageous if they're launching a new platform this year.
I understand that spending a lot on Zelda could make sense since at this point it seems to be releasing on both the NX and the Wii U, like Twilight Princess did 10 years ago, but the rest seems just dumb.

 

[Globalisateur]

A new rumour for NX, one that I find extremely interesting. It's probably a fake, but there are interesting ideas:

- It's a small tablet ("samsung and 2DS had a baby" + XB1 specs)
- You can plug a HDMI dongle into any display in order to play in another (probably bigger) screen, tech similar to Wii U Pad.
- Has feedback motors in analog controls, hey!
- Can bluetooth sync with any device, can display your text messages, replacing your phone
- Targeted XB1 specs, very easy to develop for, should run any PS4 XB1 game easily.
- Pokemon GO, streepass, AR etc.

http://dualpixels.com/2016/02/27/rumor-new-information-on-next-gen-nintendo-nx-console/

It has a wireless HDMI dongle that attaches flush to the back of the device. A user can pull it out and insert it into any display with a normal sized HDMI output and the devices uses an evolved version of the Wii U’s streaming tech to display in HD to the TV screen.
Allegedly the analog controls for movement has small motors in them for full haptic feedback. Meaning if you control a character and hit a wall, the sticks move away from the direction of that wall to simulate running head first into it. This can also be used for jerking when firing a gun, taking damage, moving over rough terrain, ect.
It can literally Bluetooth synch with everything, especially smart phone and tablets to the point where one feature is that it can answer phone calls and display text messages from your phone onto the screens itself so you don’t have to stop and answer your smart device.
The closest in terms of “power” it gets to is the Xbox One, but an app idea is Wii U x50 and Playstation Vita x100. The key is that all the tech is exactly the same hardware layout as the PS4 and Xbox One which then combine it with the OS’s strong emulation functions and compiler means that any game that can run of a Playstation 4 or Xbox One can easily run on the NX with near-zero modification to the original source code, especially if it runs in Android OS or Unreal Engine 4. This is allegedly why Nintendo has given out the dev kits so late, as one 3rd Party dev put it “It’s the easiest device we’ve ever developed for. You just take your code, compile it and it works.”
Look to Pokemon GO to get the idea of the type of social features that will be in NX that will take multiplayer, AR and the StreetPass concept to a whole new level.
The real strengths of the device is its usability and ease of use. Developers have described to me more than once that it visually and functionally looks as if “Samsung and the Nintendo 2DS” had a baby, in that it looks friendly but unlike what most people visualize a Nintendo device to typically look. The operating system, named NintendOS alone is very powerful and has so many modern features of mobile operating systems today that Nintendo is trying to be very careful in showing it off for fear that it would be mistaken as running Android. It also has a very strong networking functions as it ties into multiple devices and services allowing a very competent and pervasive eco-system designed to constantly involve the consumer’s lives.

 

[McHuj]

I doubt the X1 level part. A9X isn't anywhere near X1 GPU-wise and Nintendo supposedly will deliver that capability?

A Nintendo tablet with 360 level GPU maybe possible but I think even would have to be on 14/16 nm to provide decent battery life.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

A tablet at XB1 specs is implausible. Certainly not with any long-term battery life. Not sure about the bluetooth sync either. Why is a larger handheld better to view texts on than the phone you are also carrying around?

 

[Rikimaru]

Why is a larger handheld better to view texts on than the phone you are also carrying around?

Actually that's a neat idea. You won't need to take out phone to see/reply to the message.
But the rumour is a fake of course.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

A tablet at XB1 specs is implausible. Certainly not with any long-term battery life.

If they use 28nm then you're most certainly right.
If they go with 14 FF, then maybe..

Here's Carrizo configured at 15W TDP:

That shows Carrizo's GPU with 8 CUs running at 400MHz. This means the output of that GPU is around 410 GFLOPs.
Now AMD has been hinting that Polaris will bring 2.5 times higher efficiency. So at the same TDP, 2.5 higher efficiency could mean 2.5 higher performance. They could achieve this by increasing both CU count and sustainable clocks, but let's assume 2.5 x 410 GFLOPs = 1024 GFLOPs (e.g. 16 CUs at 500MHz), ending up within 25% of the XBone's theoretical output.

Furthermore, Carrizo is using AMD's best CPU cores for a PC experience (high IPC and bursts of high clocks), and not for sustained performance. They have ARM or Puma for that, which they obviously couldn't use in Carrizo.
If they used one of their low-power CPUs in Carrizo, they could probably leverage more power/heat towards the GPU, hence higher clocks.

The hard part IMO would be to find a memory technology that isn't too expensive and that could feed such a SoC. All I can think of is 128bit (or more) LPDDR4 4266MT/s or single-stack HBM2, but they don't seem like something Nintendo would adopt. Perhaps just LPDDR3 + eDRAM..


Regardless, the "Wii U x50" thingie is what kills the rumor IMO. With 160 shaders the Wii U does ~175GFLOPs. 50 x 175 GFLOPs would be around 8 TFLOPs. It's a ridiculous value.

Why is a larger handheld better to view texts on than the phone you are also carrying around?

Not having to pause your game to see if you got an important text is a nice thing, IMO.

 

[Commenter]

With the rumours of NX being around the same power as an Xbone, I can imagine the battery life for such a device is going to be absolutely dire, unless of course there is a cut down version of the hardware in the base device present in the handheld portion of the console designed for running the same game at a lower res, say 720p instead of 1080p.

 

[AlNom]

You'd need about 2 orders of magnitude (or I guess >1.7) reduction in power consumption.

 

[function]

The chance of any fanless handheld on 14nm equalling XB1 power is roughly equivalent to the chance of me being a playable character in DoAX3.

For those in any doubt, that is not a chance worthy of anyone's consideration or concern.

 

[east of eastside]

NX handheld (not console), I believe, will be launching this year along side ports of Pokémon Sun & Moon, Zelda Wii U, Nintendo' iOS/android mobile titles, and ports of Smash Bros 4 (w/ DLC and extras) and Mario Kart 8 Wii U soon after.

NX will be pitched as a true convergence device merging titles from all Nintendo's platform.

This will allow NX handheld to launch with a strong, but to Nintendo's benefit, recycled line-up, thus, avoiding droughts and high development costs of all new launch software while requiring minimal initial third-party support.

It really makes no sense for Nintendo to launch an NX console this year, yes, you could port Zelda U, but Nintendo has never launched a console with Zelda and you would be looking at a length software drought soon after beyond ports of key Wii U titles, which is not a compelling way to launch a new console.

 

[TheLump]

There's no way the handheld will be any more powerful than WiiU imo. And that'd be plenty for a handheld.

Why would you need XB1 level graphics on a 5" screen?! Seems like a waste to me.